#PDTSP (Put Down the Stupid Phone)

April 21, 2014

PDTP (Put Down the Stupid Phone)

I have stopped taking my smart phone everywhere with me of late. I have clearly made it angry. It has started to slow down and seems passive aggressive as it spins when I ask it to do its job these days. Siri is nearing insubordination. My directional apps have gone mute.

But the reality is that my phone doesn’t want a job, it wants to control my life but that is not going to happen and if it has happened, that is all over. It no longer gets to go to restaurants with me, it does not get to go to meetings with me and when I am with my family, it does not get to come along. It is often relegated to “Do Not Disturb” mode for hours on end so even when it comes along, it is not allowed to talk or ring or vibrate or make other siren sounds.

My phone is NOT a family member, it is a phone and if I threw it in a lake my life would go on just fine. It does not get to interrupt conversations, ring at inappropriate times, distract me or vie for my attention any longer. It will not place me in an OCD trance for hours on end any more. Relationships have won. My smart phone has lost.

Humanity has once again triumphed over machines. Today anyway.

#PDTP

Distinguished Evangelist of the United Methodist Church Rev. Shane L. Bishop is the Sr. Pastor of Christ Church in Fairview Heights, IL.